


Together in the Stars

by Ladieboog



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aliens, Altea (Voltron), Angry Kissing, Angry Sex, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Anxiety, Belligerent Sexual Tension, Bisexual Shiro (Voltron), Blade of Mamora (Voltron), Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Canon Rewrite, Comfort/Angst, Consensual Underage Sex, Depressing, Depression, Earth, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Future, Galra Empire, Gender-Neutral Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Genderfluid Pidge | Katie Holt, Heavy Angst, Hurt Keith (Voltron), Intimacy, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith (Voltron) has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith has anxiety, LGBTQ Character, Love, M/M, Minor Allura/Shiro (Voltron), Multi, Nonbinary Pidge | Katie Holt, Other, Paladins, Pidge Has Depression, Pidge has anxiety, Pidge | Katie Holt Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Pidge | Katie Holt is Savage, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Voltron Paladins, Rare Pairings, References to Depression, Sassy Pidge | Katie Holt, Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Shiro (Voltron) Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Socially Awkward Keith (Voltron), Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), Space Emo & Space Nerd, Space Mom Allura (Voltron), Stubborn Keith (Voltron), Stubborn Pidge (Voltron), Underage Sex, mature themes, sexual love, space, space travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-04-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:22:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22284784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ladieboog/pseuds/Ladieboog
Summary: After undertaking the burden of becoming protectors of the universe, the withdrawn elfin Pidge and mysterious loner Keith find solace in each other having both experienced loss and helplessness as a result of Kerberos. As time goes on, could their connection develop into much more than friends, or will the pair let their attitudes and fears get the best of them?~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~This fanfic will be pretty much me inserting kidge into the show. Early on I’ll just be changing and adding some scenes but later on, If I write that long, there will probably be major changes from the show. Anywayyyyy enjoyOriginally posted by me on Wattpad - if you’d like to follow me there, my user is ladieboog
Relationships: Keith & Pidge (Voltron), Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Pidge (Voltron), Keith/Pidge | Katie Holt
Comments: 16
Kudos: 46





	1. In between S1 E1 and S1 E2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had the idea to write this fanfic about the most underrated voltron ship when I was drunk off my ass on New Year's Eve lol. Nothing serious just writing and seeing where it goes.

_This chapter takes place in between season 1 episode 1 and season 1 episode 2. If you need a refresher of S1 E1 and can't watch the episode, you can read over what happened at_ [The Rise of Voltron - Wiki](https://vld.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rise_of_Voltron)  
  


It had been close to 48 hours since the new Paladins of Voltron had slept. After waking up at 6a and training at the Galaxy Garrison all day only to unintentionally flaunt their miserable failures in front of the other space cadets, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance witnessed the pilot of the Kerberos mission, Shiro who'd disappeared just over a year ago, fall down to Earth in a Galra ship he'd stolen. They then took off with the mysterious Keith, an ex-cadet and now current fellow Paladin, and stayed up all night attempting to learn what they could about the alleged "pilot errors" that led to the failure of his as well as Pidge's dad, Sam, and brother, Matt Holt's mission. After not attaining much information from Shiro who was struggling to remember what had happened to him, they still were led to the blue lion in a nearby cave using information Keith and Pidge had gathered over the past year of searching for their loved ones and Lance was able to pilot it, unknowingly sharing a bond with the alien warship. This same alien warship that allowed Lance to pilot spoke to him and fed him ideas that would lead them to the Castle of Lions, a spaceship and castle on a different corner of the universe which held a sleeping ancient Altean princess and her royal advisor, Coran who once awoke, were able to fit together the rest of the puzzle pieces about Voltron and its role in defeating Zarkon, the Galran emperor who'd been massacring and enslaving species across all galaxies. It was after this that the group of five pilots, who'd by chance ended up on a strange planet in a strange galaxy with some strange aliens, were chosen to be the defenders of the universe and become the Paladins of Voltron, the one thing capable of taking down Zarkon and his Galra empire. And all this had taken place in a time span of under two Earth days making it impossible to find a chance to sleep until now in a castle that had kept a princess and royal advisor asleep for 10,000 years. For the first time since forming Voltron and destroying a Galra ship, everyone but two of the Paladins had gone to sleep. Keith and Pidge who even while running on no sleep, were lying wide awake in their beds staring up at the ceiling feeling lost and alone.

Everyone on the ship was separated from their families. Allura and Coran had lost their entire species but were able to get some rest knowing there was hope in saving the universe with the new paladins, Shiro had lost his crew but was ultimately too comfortable being in a safe bed for the first time in a year to be kept up even by his own nightmares of the torture he'd suffered, and Hunk and Lance while both separated from their families by hundreds of millions of light-years, were able to find peace and sleep in knowing they had families to go home to. But it had been Keith and Pidge who'd been separated by their loved ones over a year ago and had spent every waking moment searching for them and thinking about nothing but them. It wasn't even enough to be looking only when they were naturally awake. No, they kept themselves up into the late hours of the night and at times into the wee hours of the morning even when sleep called their names and offered a few hours of escape and peace. Their sole purpose had been to find out what really happened on the Kerberos mission and get their families back and even though Keith had found Shiro, the first person he felt he could call family since his dad's death, it was out of habit that he was still awake. The habit of being alert and ready to protect those he cared about or jump into action at any moment combined with having the new burden of being one of the 5 saviors of the universe was what was keeping him awake. As for Pidge, she was also in the same habit and could not think about anything except finding her brother and dad.

After trying and failing for over an hour to fall asleep, Pidge decided to get up and take a walk throughout the castle. She figured if she wasn't gonna sleep she may as well spend some time getting to know the castle she'd be staying in until fuck knows when. So wandering out of bed wearing just an oversized white t-shirt with what looked to be some sort of logo written in Altean plastered across the front that she had found earlier while raiding the drawers of her room, she disregarded her glasses and pants believing she'd be the only one who could possibly still be awake after the excitement of the last two days and that there'd be no one to dress like a boy for. But she was wrong of course as another lonely soul was awake on the ship as well and was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of soft footsteps on the metal floor outside his room. The need to stay alert and be ready for action that was keeping him awake is also what drove the instinct to grab the blade he'd been given by his mother from his nightstand and be prepared to battle whatever intruder may be lurking in the halls. Jumping up out of bed, he bolted to the door and had to refrain from opening it as fast as possible as well because he didn't want to make any noise that could alert whoever was in the hallway of his awareness of them. He wanted the advantage of surprise. So slipping out as quietly as possible, he tiptoed in the direction he'd heard the footsteps going and caught a glimpse of a figure under the low light turning a corner leading out of the hallway and into the lounge area. Proceeding with caution, he followed and leaned against the wall next to the corner before peaking his head around and seeing who the person he'd heard was. Pidge. The smallest paladin, and the other arm of Voltron, was prancing around with her messy short hair in nothing but an oversized shirt completely unaware that he was watching her. Keith then decided to step out in the open instead of hiding behind the wall and stood silent waiting for her to turn around and notice him. She did within a few seconds and she let out a small yelp in surprise while instinctively grabbing the bottom of her shirt and trying to pull it down in a last attempt to hide her true sex. But it wouldn't have made any difference. The simple fact that she was comfortable walking around in only a long shirt was telling enough and even then, Pidge quickly remembered that he already knew.

"You know if you want people to think you're a guy you really shouldn't go around wearing pajamas like that _Katie_." He said smugly drawing out her name a bit while leaning himself against the wall. "Bet you're grateful it was just me who was awake huh?" He hid a smirk while staring down at Pidge's adorable annoyed face from across the room. They both remembered the day they'd met several months earlier after the news of the failed Kerberos mission but before Pidge had enrolled in the Galaxy Garrison.

"Put her in the cell with the boy and we'll call her mom." Commander Iverson demanded of a guard that held her back from attacking him. She'd just been banned from ever stepping foot at the Garrison again after hacking into their computers and reading classified information relating to her father and brother's disappearance.

"You really think me or my mother will let you get away with this?!" She shouts back angrily while being forced away by the guard holding her. Katie continued to kick and scream trying to escape the grip the guard had on her the entire time she was being carried and once being set down in a cell away from the offices and cadets, she banged on the door that was slammed in her face and screamed once more. "You'll never get away with this, I'll never stop!" The tears began welling up but she quickly made herself hold them back when she heard a voice.

"What'd they lock you up for?" Katie jerked around and saw a boy with jet black hair and a red jacket sitting on a bench in the corner.

"Who's asking?" She spat back looking him up and down. She didn't mean to come off so rude but he had found himself in the line of her raging fire.

"Keith." He stated bluntly showing no emotion.

"That doesn't tell me anything about who you are." Katie responded annoyed that a stranger was asking her questions without giving any information in return.

"I'm here because I snuck into the mission's communications building and held a man at knifepoint until he brought me to the mission transcript logs room. There was someone in there when we arrived and I was caught. I've now been expelled and they decided to put me in here until they figure out what to do with me." He explained and Katie caught the slightest hint of a curve in the corner of his lips almost as if he was trying desperately to hide his pride in what he'd done. "Now I've told you why I'm here so I'll ask you again. Why are you here?" His stare bore into her eyes as he asked in his intimidating tone while getting up from his spot on the bench and approaching her. But she wasn't phased one bit by his lack of remorse for holding a man at knifepoint as had she not been held back, she most likely would've attempted to gouge out Iverson's eyes just moments ago.

"There are much more effective ways of attaining that information." Katie crossed her arms and said matter-of-factly. "I'm here because I broke into Iverson's office and was _hacking_ into the transcript logs as well as classified information about the mission itself." She announced not holding back her own expression of pride one bit.

"And which mission would that be?" Keith asked taking another step now making him only a few feet away. She didn't respond debating internally how much she was willing to divulge.

"Kerberos?" Keith asked quietly and after a moment she responded with a shy nod. "Who are you exactly?" He pushed and she again debated how much she was willing to tell him.

"Katie." She stated finally in the same blunt tone Keith had used when telling her his name causing him to let out a small chuckle.

"Well, _Katie_." He dragged out her name teasingly. "What do you say we get ourselves outta here?"

"Now how exactly can we do that? They took away all my devices so I can't hack into the system and unlock this cell?" She explained and in response Keith pulled out a blade from inside his jacket making Katie's eyes go wide in shock that he'd managed to sneak the same weapon he'd been caught using inside the cell.

"While I have great respect for your technological abilities and admit they would come in handy in helping us get out more discreetly." He begins while looking over his blade and running his fingers along its smooth surface just as he had countless times over the course of his life. "This is one of the times when the answer is violence." As he looked back up to Katie's eyes, his voice was quiet but seemingly excited about whatever plan he was conjuring in his mind.

"And what exactly did you have in mind?" She questioned his intentions in a hushed, excited, and malevolent tone that mimicked his while pushing away the thought that she enjoyed the bit of thrill she felt thinking about inflicting any pain against the place that had covered up details of her father and brother's disappearance.

"This." He replied and turned to go to the door. She followed and watched him slam his blade into a control pad causing the doors to glitch open. An alarm immediately started blaring as well as red flashing lights in the hallway. "See not the most discreet but still does the trick."

"I thought their tech was supposed to be bulletproof." Katie stated shocked at the ability of the blade to so easily cut through the controls before following Keith out of the cell and bolting down the hall. "Must be a strong blade."

"Yeah now c'mon and follow me. I know this place pretty well." He rushed her while turning a corner at the end of the hallway and into an empty office. The alarms continued to roar raucously as Keith locked the door behind them before running to the other side of the room and touching the wall as if looking for something.

"What are you doing?" Katie asked impatiently while glancing back at the door nervous that someone would burst in at any moment.

"Be patient!" He ordered and before Katie could protest she watched as he pushed in a small slot of what had seemed like a completely ordinary flat wall before sticking his hand and then whole arm inside. Reaching around inside, he grabbed a doorknob on the other side and twisted it unlocking the door that was a fake wall.

"Wha-?!" Katie couldn't believe what she was seeing and stood unable to move while staring at the opening wall and the strange boy she had met who'd somehow known about it.

"Come." He demanded as he grabbed her hand and pulled her through before closing the wall behind them. "We have to hurry." He asserted to her as he dragged her down a dark hallway.

"How did you know about this place?" She grilled while trying to pull her hand away from his but he wasn't going to let her tiny legs fall behind when they were trying to shake a tail. He gave no answer and turned down a few corners which eventually led them to a door with a keypad. "Gonna use your knife again?" Katie teased.

"Nope, I actually know the code for this one." He fires back smugly as he types in the code. The door slides open to reveal an aircraft hanger illuminated by large fluorescent lights and filled with dozens of fighter jets and high ranking commanders. Katie couldn't believe her eyes. She'd never heard about any of these crafts or even this hanger. It must be classified she thought and before she could gasp in disbelief over the number of secrets the Garrison was hiding or the fact that this random boy just a few years older than her, knew how to sneak in and had led her there, Keith again grabbed her hand and pulled her into a dark corner and placed his index finger over his lips to signal for her to be quiet. She had no problem complying as she knew if she was caught here, there would surely be punishment a thousand times worse than what she already had coming. And it seemed like a good idea to trust this boy anyway since he appeared to know much more about this place than herself despite having read classified documents on missions conducted by the Garrison.

Together, they snuck up a ladder remaining alert of every guard nearby and crawled towards a hovering motorcycle hidden in a corner behind one of the jets.

"We're taking this but the sound of the engine will alert people nearby of our presence so we'll have to hurry before they close the gate to trap us in if we wanna make it out of here." Keith informs her once they arrive at the vehicle. He climbs up onto the seat but instead of getting up to sit behind him, Katie approaches the front and examines the controls.

"I may be able to silence the vehicle by hacking into the engine controls so we can at least get up to the gate without being noticed. I've never messed with the controls on a hover motorcycle before but if the tech runs under the same programming as other Garrison tech I should be able to figure it out." She leans over and begins furiously pressing buttons leaving Keith to watch in awe.

"I'm impressed little one. But do hurry before a guard decides to walk by and spots us." Keith teases while watching her small fingers seemingly work magic on the panel of controls.

"Annnnnd done." She announces with an expression of pride. "That should do it."

"Good now climb up and hold on." He whispers in response nervously. He feels her sit behind him and her small arms tightly wrap around his waist. "Ready?" He asks but instead of giving her a chance to respond, he presses on the pedal with his foot and takes off. Keith turns sharply around a fighter jet and heads straight toward the gate as fast as he can without hitting anything.

"Hey stop!" A guard yells and Katie grips Keith's shirt tighter while glancing back.

"Uhh, Keith..." Katie says worrying because they'd now been spotted and guards everywhere were chasing after them.

"Don't worry." He responds just as they make it through the gate and now that they're out in the open, are able to pick up their speed. It's only a few moments later though that they hear bullets hitting the dirt next to them and Katie lets out a scream. "Shit." Keith curses under his breath and swerves to the side attempting to make them a harder target.

"Keith how much further?" She asks staring back at the guards trying to gun them down.

"I'm gonna need you to hold on and trust me." He shouts back over the gunfire.

"Whaaa-!" Katie cries out as Keith pivots the hover motorcycle 90 degrees to the side and they both struggle to hold on as they fly through a thin opening in a high wall that acted as a fence around the property. Once they're on the other side, Keith turns them back upright and they gain some cover from the bullets from the wall.

"Get ready to jump." Keith warns and only a few moments later, jumps off bringing Katie with him as she had still been holding on. They land on the ground hard and roll a few times in the dirt while the hover motorcycle continues on in the same direction. Katie groans as she pushes herself off the ground and gets back up before coughing out some dirt.

"Why the fuck did you do that?" She yells angrily at Keith as he forces himself back up too.

"They'll track the signal of the hover motorcycle and will follow that. It's best we got off and get a head start running away now." He explains spitting out the words a bit annoyed with her questions. She notices that he's clutching his side and wincing a bit while struggling to stand up completely.

"What's wrong?" She questions looking concerned at his face while helping him upright.

"Nothing I'm fine." He protests as she moves aside his jacket to examine where he'd been clutching. There was a rip in his shirt and a large cut on his side and in his jacket was the blade he'd showed off earlier.

"You really decided it was a good idea to jump off and roll around on the ground with a knife in your jacket?!" She exclaims looking back up to his eyes.

"There was no other choice we had to get off their radar." He snaps back at her as she goes to examine the cut again.

"Well it's not too deep but we definitely have to wrap you up. Know anywhere we can go?" Katie helps keep him up by wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"I live close by. Only about a half-hour walk in that direction." He nods south and they begin walking. They didn't speak except for the occasional pained grunt from Keith and made sure to keep facing south so not to be blinded by the sunset to the west. It felt like the journey was taking closer to an hour by the time the small shack appeared in the distance probably because their speed was set at slowly limping and the sun had completely set leaving only the stars out once they were finally at the front door. Walking inside, Katie finally placed Keith down on the sofa and pulled her shirt off over her head disregarding it on the floor and leaving herself only in a sports bra.

"Uhhh what are you doing?" Keith questioned wincing as he tried to pull off his own jacket.

"We just walked for over an hour in the desert. I'm hot." She answered bluntly and uncaring while turning on a fan in the corner. She walked back to Keith on the sofa and sat down next to him before helping remove his jacket. "We're gonna have to take off your shirt and wrap you up. Do you have any bandages?" She asked and he pointed to the cabinets in response. Getting up once again, she grabbed some rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, gauze, gauze pads, and put some ice from the freezer in a bag before returning to the couch setting everything she'd brought on the coffee table in front of her. Next, she turned back to a dazed-looking Keith and made him sit back up.

"Lift your arms up." Katie commands while grabbing the hem of his shirt. He winces in response to his arms being raised but she makes sure to be gentle when lifting the shirt up and over. Once off, they become aware of how close their faces are and find themselves staring into each other's eyes.

"So.. you gonna fix me up now?" Keith teases quietly and Katie pulls her eyes away and reaches for the rubbing alcohol and cotton balls. Getting one thoroughly soaked with the liquid, she gently dabs it on the wound wincing as he lets out an excruciating roar from the pain.

"I know, I know." She tries to calm him and squeezes his hand in hers as she continues. Finally, she finishes with the rubbing alcohol and sits him up straight so she can begin wrapping him up. "Ya know, I'm starting to doubt you are, well were, just some random cadet." Katie teases and glances up to look at him her eyebrow arched in a questioning manner.

"Fine." He caves and lets out a sigh while she continues wrapping the gauze around his torso. "Takashi Shirogane, the senior pilot of the Kerberos mission, is my best friend, like a brother to me. He got me into the Garrison and always believed in me despite my 'behavioral issues'." Keith ends on a chuckle and avoids looking her in the eyes, feeling shy talking about himself in such a vulnerable way. She stops wrapping for a moment to look at him and contemplate her next words.

"I'm Katie Holt. Daughter of Senior Science Officer Samuel Holt and Sister of Junior Science Officer Matt Holt of the Kerberos expedition." She finally declares nervously observing his expression and searching for a reaction.

"Looks like we're both being royally fucked over by the Garrison." He jokes after a moment and she smiles before returning to wrapping up his bandage.

"That should do it." She announces after a minute and she lays back against the couch.

"What now?" He whispers suddenly feeling the exhaustion and sleepiness crash over him like a wave all at once.

"I'll have to find a way to get home. Like I said earlier, Garrison confiscated my devices so I don't really have a way to contact my mom and I don't have a vehicle to get home in." She stares up at the ceiling thinking over her options.

"You can borrow my hover motorcycle. It's beaten up but it'll get you where you need to go and then you can just send it back on autopilot." He suggests turning to look at her and she lets her face fall to the side to face him.

"I appreciate that, thank you. And thank you for getting me out today." She says gratefully and his lips curve into a small smile.

"No problem." He replies and suddenly a heavy silence fills the air between them. It wasn't awkward but it felt despairing. Looking at each other, both of them lost and searching for their loved ones all alone was like staring at a reflection in a mirror and seeing this reflection, they both could see how small and insignificant they were and how unlikely it was they'd ever find the answers they were searching for. It was to push away this silence that Katie finally spoke.

"I think I'm gonna have to find a way to search in the Garrison again but this time without them knowing who I am." She states.

"How exactly?" He questions.

"I don't know maybe I'll dress up as a boy or something."

The pair were pulled from their thoughts and found themselves back in the lounge of the Castle of Lions still staring at each other from across the room. Neither of them could decide if the situation they had found themselves in now was better or worse than that from when they met. Back then, they were alone with little hope of finding their families but now, Keith had found Shiro even if he was broken while Pidge was still searching for Matt and her dad. And while these circumstances were still quite shit, neither of them felt as alone. They did, however, feel the weight of their new responsibility as protectors of the entire universe and while the Paladins were in this together, they felt too small for such an occupation and felt so insignificant when separated by millions of light-years from everything they ever knew.

"What are you doing up?" Keith finally asks breaking their moment of silence.

"Couldn't sleep." She admits looking away from his gaze shyly wanting to avoid any discussion of her lack of sleep and the reasons behind it.

"Me neither." He replies feeling just as vulnerable confessing.

"Do you wanna watch a movie with me?" Pidge asks a bit uncomfortably. She didn't know what else to say but she figured neither of them would be able to sleep anytime soon.

"How?" He responds confused. He wondered if she'd momentarily forgotten they weren't on Earth and there were no televisions or on-demand movies.

"I got my holo computer and while we obviously can't get any wifi out here, I have a bunch of movies downloaded on it." She explains and she follows Keith to the couch before taking a seat at his side and pulling out her device. "This one ok?" She asks pointing to one of the films she had saved and he nods back in response.

"Looks like you got your tech back." Keith jokes and Pidge chortles in response to the memory of that day again before they relaxed back on the couch to watch the movie. A few moments into it though, she got a sudden urge to explain her new alias to Keith even though he knew very well why she'd done it.

"When I said that I'd dress up as a boy, I was actually joking." Pidge began quietly while refusing to remove her eyes from the screen. "But within a few weeks, I'd gotten so desperate that when the new enrollment period came around, it seemed like as good an idea as any. And then it worked and I was able to continue gathering intel and improve my skills in developing technology to try and make contact with Matt and my dad." She recounted and while Keith didn't provide any verbal response he spent the rest of the movie staring at the small lonely girl next to him. She didn't mind not getting any reaction out of him she mainly just felt the need to get it off her chest. She felt she had to express the unbearable helplessness and forlornness that had driven her to such an extreme. And with that off her chest and next to someone who at least partially understood what she was feeling, she began to drift off to sleep not long after the movie started. Keith didn't wake her or move away as her head fell to his shoulder. He instead stared at her petite body and short messy curls, captivated by her strength and will to fight in spite of the pain. It reminded him of himself except he had long ago forced himself to numb his pain while she had been strong enough to continue to allow herself to feel emotions. No wonder she couldn't sleep until now. He thought as he gently twirled one of her curls in his fingers.

By the time the movie was over, Keith had finally begun feeling sleepy as well and decided to head off to bed. He would've left Pidge there on the sofa but she was just in a shirt and he knew that if anyone else came out, they'd see her choice of pajamas and know she was a girl. While he didn't think it really mattered at this point as there was no one here she needed to hide her true identity from, he understood it wasn't his decision to reveal such a secret so instead of leaving her to rest on the couch, he carefully lifted her elfin body and carried her to her room before softly laying her in bed. After finally taking his leave of her allowing her to sleep peacefully, he returned to his own room to do the same.

In the morning, finding herself back in bed, Pidge pondered if last night had all been a dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s note from Wattpad:  
> I was drunk on NYE when I had the idea to write this so it may be a bit shit but it was pretty fun to write. Lol I like how instead of updating my The Deep fanfic (available on Wattpad) for the first time in like two years I just started a whole new one for a totally different fandom. Lol my bad😂
> 
> ~Whitney
> 
> Originally posted on Wattpad at 12:15a January 4th, 2020
> 
> Posted here at 7:25p January 16th, 2020


	2. Chapter 2

_Season 1 Episode 2 at 14mins 10secs to 15mins 34secs. If you need a refresher of S1 E2 and can't watch the episode, you can read over what happened at_ [Some Assembly Required - Wiki](https://vld.fandom.com/wiki/Some_Assembly_Required)

"Now the most important part of Paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Voltron." Coran announces over the speaker in the viewing deck of the training room. The five Paladins sit cross-legged in a circle down below in the otherwise empty space attempting one of the many physical and mental exercises of the day, opening their minds to each other which would help them form the bond needed to build Voltron. It had been a long and tiresome day for the gang as it was their first official day of training and they were struggling to get along let alone connect on the deep emotional level that was expected of them. But if any five people in the universe were gonna be able to achieve this daunting task, it would be this dysfunctional bunch as in just the last two days, they had already survived countless unimaginable horrors and thrills together and it was still only the beginning of the journey to come. On top of everything they'd already experienced, they also had no one else to put their trust in. They were all alone, far from everything they'd ever known with no one else to turn to so really, they didn't have much of a choice but to lean on the people they'd already come this far with. But still, even after traveling across the universe, facing an evil alien emperor, eating strange food goo in a 10,000-year-old castle, and training to become a giant alien robot to prepare for the long journey ahead, they still were failing to work together and become one unit: Voltron. And one little lady, in particular, was having an especially difficult time.

"Everything else has to fade away." Coran adds and it takes all of Pidge's strength not to wince at the comment. She could never just ignore everything else, she had to stay alert and fight to find her family. She already felt as if being a part of Voltron was keeping her away from what was really important to her and feared that if she permanently committed to entering this war with only a couple of mechanical lions against an empire older than much of human civilization, that she stood no chance of ever seeing her dad or brother again. It wasn't that she didn't care about protecting the universe because she did very much and she understood that the Galra were an evil race that would stop at nothing to gain power and quintessence, but she felt too small to really be impactful enough to be a part of Voltron and have a chance at stopping Zarkon. Pidge had spent over a year searching for her brother and dad, feeling completely helpless and now that she had been deemed one of the saviors of the universe, she didn't know how to turn off that feeling of helplessness in just a matter of days. She was terrified that she'd lose her chance to get her family back and thought it might be best to let the green lion find a new Paladin, one that could actually make a difference in this war, while she left to find her family. It was for this reason that Pidge was struggling to focus on the task at hand during this training exercise and it wasn't helping that she had built up so many walls since being stricken with unimaginable loss, that she felt excruciatingly uncomfortable with letting people inside her head.

"This technique will be essential every time you form Voltron." Coran continues as the Paladins' brain projectors begin displaying their thoughts, specifically their current desires. While Lance was missing his family back in Cuba and his time with them at the dinner table, Hunk pictured rolls of sushi and seasoned shrimp kabobs made with love by his mother. Shiro was simply wanting home or more specifically the Garrison. Except for the short time he'd spent when he crash-landed and was rescued by his fellow Paladins, it had been a year since he'd been home and he wanted desperately to go back and put his time of imprisonment behind him. Then there was Keith. As he was not accustomed to spending several days or even hours at a time surrounded by people he only moderately liked or really people at all, his image displayed was of his desert shack depicting his craving for the isolation it provided. However, every few seconds his brain projection would flicker to Pidge in just her oversized shirt sleeping on his shoulder the night before for a moment so short, that not only was it not noticed by any member of the group, but Keith himself did not register the fact that he was thinking of her. And finally, Pidge was becoming nervous by the idea of having people in her head and as a result, her brain was scattered and her projection was a very flickery image of her and Matt the day he left for Kerberos.

"So relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between Paladins." _Yeah except that I'm a girl._ Pidge thought to herself which didn't help her already failing attempt to concentrate at all. "Come on everyone, clear everything. Now, focus on forming your lion." _Easier said than done!_ Pidge was internally screaming at herself as no matter how hard she focused and tried to listen to what Coran was telling them, she couldn't take her mind off Matt and a memory of a time when her life was filled with joy which at this point, felt like a lifetime ago. "Bring your lions together and form Voltron." Coran ends in an uncharacteristically soothing voice to aid the meditative focusing process. Everyone easily abided and had thought up their lions except Pidge and despite not opening her eyes to see everyone's brain projections, she knew she was the only one having difficulty. This exercise felt like more proof that she wasn't worthy enough for the team and this thought only hindered her concentration more.

"Keep your minds open, work together. Good!" Coran calmly cheers them on and Pidge begins feeling the pressure mounting. "Keep focusing! Only one to go!" She scrunches up her nose angry with herself and attempting to summon every bit of strength she has to listen but still, every instinct inside her soul was screaming for her to search for her brother. She couldn't ignore it no matter how hard she tried.

"Pidge focus!" Keith orders without warning and it hits her like a hard slap across the face. Keith was the only person in the group who had gone through a similar experience and it made her want to crumble that not only had he successfully cleared his head, but he had been harsh with her for not being able to. It led her to think that this wasn't a problem that people with their minds elsewhere had, it was a problem that she alone was having and it added to her belief that she wasn't capable of living up to the new expectations of her. What she didn't realize though, was that there were two significant differences between her and the person in the group that she related most to. The first being that Keith had Shiro back while Pidge was still missing her brother and father and even though the need to now save the entire universe was painfully overwhelming, to say the least, he did feel the slightest bit of peace after reuniting with Shiro which was a feeling that Pidge had not yet experienced. The second big difference between the two was something that Keith had noticed the night before as she had fallen asleep on his shoulder and this was that she had not turned off her emotions like he had. He had survived the last year of trying to find Shiro by separating himself from the world and feelings and dedicating his entire being to searching. Pidge, on the other hand, had allowed herself to become consumed with the search, not only physically but emotionally as well and now was failing to separate her mind from it in the same way that Keith had separated himself from everything else and turned his emotions off. This is why Keith had so easily focused on his lion while Pidge could not. But again, Pidge didn't know this and couldn't understand why she was failing compared to him so when he barked at her, her only instinct was to go on the defense.

"I'm trying! Hunk was rooting around in my head!" She blurts out thinking up an excuse and shoots a glare at Hunk.

"I thought we were open. You can look in my head hole." He replies almost as a question seeming confused and taken aback by her almost-outburst.

"Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes!" Coran reminds grabbing everyone's attention, including Pidge's. "Clear your minds!" He commands and the group returns to concentrating this time feeling a tad easier for the green Paladin having been slightly distracted from her thoughts about her family by Coran's voice allowing her to conjure up her lion in tune with the rest of the group. "Good! Almost there." Coran motivates. _Focus Katie focus!_ Pidge tries repeating the word lion over and over in her head refusing to let herself think about anything else. "Now, form Voltron." _Voltron, Voltron, Voltron, you're an arm, arm, arm, arm._ Pidge repeats with all her might. "Yes!" Coran cheers just as Pidge goes to connect her arm but suddenly, she's yet again pulled away by the thought of her brother.

"Pidge!" Lance whines and without thinking the small helpless girl stands and slams her brain projector to the ground. The only thing she had gained from today's training was low self-esteem and the urge to cry in a corner while clutching a picture of Matt.

"I'm done with this!" She shouts fuming and crossing her arms over her chest. Keith was a bit taken aback not by her anger, but by her willingness to quit as she had never seemed like the type to give up so easily and this left him feeling a bit remorseful for snapping at her as she obviously was battling some internal demons. "Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head!" It was only a partial truth. She, of course, didn't enjoy feeling vulnerable, but mostly she just needed a break and something to come along and give her a reason to remain a Paladin instead of going out searching for her brother and father, especially when she didn't even feel worthy enough to be one.

"Oh, come on Pidge, we're starting to get the hang of this." Shiro pleads encouragingly looking up to her from his spot on the floor.

"I'm just... tired, okay?" She was tired of everything and was begging the universe to make it stop but unfortunately until the universe was saved by none other than her, who she believed to be too insignificant to matter in this fight at all, and four other random earthlings, nothing was gonna stop or get better. And while this thought made her want to break down, she knew she would never let herself do that (or at least not in front of the others) because if she did, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from giving up her search or even worse, giving up on herself.

"Okay. Let's take a break." Shiro says after a moment understanding that she'd had enough. Keith finally removes his gaze from the defeated girl who appeared to be on the verge of tears as watching her was making him feel an uncomfortable and quite sudden amount of protectiveness over her course through him and he didn't like the feeling— he didn't like to feel anything at all.

* * *

_In between season 1 episode 2 and season 1 episode 3_

The day of relentless and exhausting training had finally come to an end on a high note as the team had succeeded in forming Voltron. The experience was exhilarating and the five Paladins had spent the last half varga ** _(AN// 1 varga = 1.4 hours ~ 1/2 varga = 42mins)_ **relaxing and hanging out in the lounge excited to feel so connected to their lions and to each other. While the other Paladins celebrated with hugs and high-fives, Pidge had sat quietly on the couch content in watching her new friends. She had always possessed a naturally fun-loving and outgoing personality, but since her brother and father's disappearance and her descent into a severe depression accompanied by unimaginable stress from spending every waking moment searching and trying to uncover the truth about what happened to her family, Pidge had been a bit distracted from and less enthusiastic, to say the least about things that, by comparison, seemed trivial. So while usually she'd be joining in the celebration and goofing off, at the moment, a lot more was on her mind and she simply wasn't in the mood, especially not after such an emotionally challenging day that she would need a bit of time alone to recover from. The other Paladins didn't think much of Pidge's quietness as they were only just beginning to get to know her and for most of the limited time they'd spent together, she'd come off as a bit unapproachable and withdrawn. But Keith did notice, not because he knew anymore about her true personality than the others, but because he too was a bit reserved and refrained from human contact and it was through solely observing closely that he not only merely saw Pidge sitting on the couch refusing to join in, but also picked up on the physical cues she was giving off that indicated her apparent battle of emotions with herself that she was hiding. Her restless leg displayed her anxiety while keeping her arms crossed in front of her chest subconsciously told her new friends that she was quite guarded by the emotional walls she'd erected around herself. Keith had also spotted the sleepiness in her eyes the moment they'd met up after Shiro's crash landing as he found that her big alluring eyes were difficult not to gaze at. It was these signals that let Keith know the small smile she wore watching her friends after forming Voltron was either fake or accompanied by a much more intense feeling of stress and sadness. And it's what made him remain curious as to why she decided to stay back in the lounge as everyone went to bed.

Peering into the room from around the corner doing his best to stay hidden, Keith observed the petit Paladin staring at a photo that the others had assumed was Pidge with "his" girlfriend but he knew was actually Matt with Katie aka, Pidge. Her leg wasn't bouncing anymore but as she was hunched over, her body appeared to be rising and falling rapidly and while he couldn't see her face from where he was standing, Keith realized she was sobbing silently. A sharp pang cut through his chest like a knife and despite hating letting himself feel emotions, he allowed it brushing it off as merely feeling protective over a teammate, nothing more. He wasn't going to try and offer comfort while she cried as he assumed she needed her moment alone and that she wasn't the type wanted to be seen crying, but he did decide that he had to do something. He couldn't let her feel totally alone.

After granting herself a few moments of weakness alone, Pidge regained her composure and left the lounge ready to head to bed and search for sleep that was likely not to come for several hours. Not wanting to wake anyone up as they were sure to be asleep by now, Pidge tiptoes through the hallway towards her room and quietly opens her door revealing a nervous-looking Keith sitting on the edge of her bed having been waiting up for her.

"What are you doing here?" She questions curiously but too tired after the long and emotional day to feel much shock by his presence as she watches Keith pace a bit avoiding eye contact. He didn't know how to act in these kinds of situations as he barely interacted with others let alone apologized for any of his actions. Pidge took a few steps towards him and finally, he brought himself to stand still and turned to look her in the eyes.

"I.. I-I wanted to say I'm sorry that I snapped at you earlier." He forced out internally cringing at himself. It wasn't that he didn't feel bad about it but he didn't usually care about how his actions affected others because for so long his only focus had been to get Shiro back by any means necessary. However now, he couldn't stop himself from feeling remorseful about adding to her obviously already intense stress earlier today.

"I'm alright thank you." She responds with an appreciative smile after a moment. She didn't care too much anymore, had almost forgotten about it as her mind was elsewhere, but she appreciated the gesture especially from someone who was obviously so uncomfortable in this situation. A silence then fell over the two as neither really knew what to say next. There was something intangible between them that they both felt but neither dared to acknowledge to themselves and even more so not each other— some form of tension and energy that was in the early stages of blooming from their shared loneliness and fear which they had tried to force deep down in order to survive the last year. This tension, while not physically there, of course, made the air feel very thick and the room sound extra quiet so that the only noises to be heard were their breathing and heartbeats— heartbeats that were quickly becoming rapid with the energy between them turning electric, especially as Keith's dark mysterious eyes bore into Pidge's angelic ones causing Keith to become more and more captivated with them every second of silence that passed.

"Are you tired?" Keith finally asks awkwardly slicing through the tension and popping the bubble of isolation from their problems and the rest of the world that had formed around them. Keith didn't mind the silence and was mesmerized by the sparkles in her eyes that he'd been gazing at, however, they were distracting and he didn't trust the universe enough to let his guard down even for a second.

"Yea but I'm probably gonna be up for a while." She admits even while stifling a small yawn. "You could stay and watch another movie with me if you want." She suggests, her voice sounding more enthusiastic than intended and as she looked up at Keith with her eyes filled with hope that he'd agree. He couldn't help thinking how cute it was that she wanted to watch a movie with him two nights in a row even when they both knew she'd most likely fall asleep. Pidge had found she loved movies and video games since she began her search for her brother and father. They were really the only things that distracted her from the loud and painful thoughts she constantly suffered from for more than a few minutes and it was because of this that she fell asleep so early into the movies as she had found a few hours of enough peace to be able to. And it was also because of this and the knowledge that Keith had suffered similarly to her, that she thought he might need the distraction too. But, while she'd never admit it to anyone including herself, the real reason she hoped he'd stay up with her was that she didn't want to be alone and felt that he was the only one who could understand what she was feeling. He didn't understand as well as she'd hoped but he wanted to— he wanted to be let in and felt the urge to protect her from her own internal hardships.

"You're not going to fall asleep on me again are you?" Keith teases with a smirk earning himself a small scrunched up nose and an annoyed expression from the girl. "Haha, I'm only teasing." Keith responds before turning and sitting down on her bed. "And I thought I was the serious one." He adds and Pidge chuckles while climbing up to join him on the bed, sitting down by his side with her back against the pillows. It wasn't long after clicking play on the movie on her holo computer though that Pidge drifted off and Keith found himself watching her just as he had the night before. She, for the first time today, appeared at peace and as much as Keith didn't want to feel anything, he couldn't push away the bit of sadness that crept up knowing she was scared and alone and being eaten away by the madness that her loss was driving her to. And just as Pidge felt helpless to find and protect her brother and dad, Keith became aware of his own helplessness to protect the girl from herself.

"Just hang on a little while longer, Katie." He whispers while carefully getting out of bed to return to his room and covering her body in a blanket. _I'll help you find your family._ He voices in his head but stops short of saying it out loud as doing so would feel like a promise, one he wasn't prepared to make before allowing himself to feel emotions other than protectiveness over Shiro again. And Keith knew before he could even do that, he would have to repair the soul he'd buried long ago and learn to let people into his heart, a task that would prove difficult while trying to simultaneously protect the universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note from Wattpad:  
> so if ur reading this and thinking wow that was such a tiny change that's dumb this is very predictable I promise u there'll be bigger changes in the future and you will be surprised even by cliffhangers. Anywayyy I feel this chapter could've been better but I'm still proud of it. I had no idea where this story was headed when I started but I'm happy I can see it's path forming in my head so if I can be good about updating I'll be excited to share it with u lol. Hope you're enjoying it so far leave a vote and comment even if just to correct my grammar lol thanks!
> 
> ~Whitney
> 
> Originally posted on Wattpad at 6:39a January 9th, 2020
> 
> Posted here 7:36p January 16th, 2020


	3. S1 E4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you weren't happy that the change in the previous chapter was super tiny and ur worried this book may become predictable and be exactly like the show, I promise there will be many more changes and more impactful changes as the story progresses!

_If you need a refresher of S1 E3 and S1 E4 and can't watch the episodes, you can read over what happened at_ [Return of the Gladiator - Wiki](https://vld.fandom.com/wiki/Return_of_the_Gladiator_\(VLD\)) | [The Fall of the Castle of Lions - Wiki](https://vld.fandom.com/wiki/The_Fall_of_the_Castle_of_Lions_\(VLD\))

_Season 1 Episode 4 at 5:39-7:24_

  
It had been only 7 quintants ( ** _A//N 1 quintant = 1.167 days/28 hours_** ) since the five Earthlings arrived on Arus and became the new Paladins of Voltron. As a team, they'd already defeated Sendak's prison warship, rescued the captives, and only a few Vargas ago, came across the local population of Arusians before defending them against one of Haggar's gladiators. Through battling as one and training incessantly at the orders of Allura, Coran, and Shiro, the team had bonded and greatly improved their skills. But as a result of the nonstop chaos, they also hadn't been allowed the chance to fully relax or even process the events of the last few days. Not until now, while celebrating the newfound friendship and alliance between the Arusians and Voltron, had the Paladins been given the opportunity to "hang out" and "chill." However, they were finding it difficult to enjoy themselves as they were each distracted with something besides relaxing.

Lance and Hunk were both spending their evening near the tables of food and drinks looking somberly at the selection of alien cuisine. The time they'd spent away from home hadn't been long but they'd already experienced so much and were preparing to throw themselves into the middle of an intergalactic war as mere teenagers while all they really craved were the simple joys of Earth such as garlic knots, beach sunsets, splashing in puddles, and hugging their families. Shiro, on the other hand, was preoccupied with the castle's security as they were simply letting Arusians come and go as they pleased causing him to feel paranoid about what or who could be lurking outside ready to strike at any moment. It even reached the point where he decided to scope the perimeter to put his mind at ease.

  
Then there was Keith who was feeling uncomfortable in his environment as he wasn't used to interacting with others so much, let alone short cuddly aliens that saw the Paladins as deities. It was bad enough that he'd already been forced to "build relationships" and "bond" with his fellow teammates quite a bit the last few days. The crowd of strangers and party atmosphere only added to his restlessness and feeling of uneasiness. In an attempt to tame the unpleasant feelings, he tried to regress his mindset to guarded, protective and alert of his surroundings, but instead, his eyes found themselves observing Pidge from across the room in a tender gaze as she appeared as awkward and out of place as he felt. It wasn't long after he caught himself staring that he decided to stroll over and ask the petite girl to sneak off and watch a movie with him instead of tolerating the party. Each night since their arrival on Arus, the pair had started a movie together once everyone had gone to bed and it had become their nightly ritual, sort of a "tradition" of theirs. Even though Pidge would fall asleep early every night without fail, the two found peace in the quiet time spent with someone who understood their struggles. Of course though, they'd never admit to each other or even to themselves that they deeply valued this time as neither of them was the type to enjoy possessing feelings for others, let alone discussing them.  
  
Meanwhile, there was another who had been studying Pidge closely throughout the evening. After being informed by her mice that the girl was in fact, a girl, she had made it her mission to learn the truth from Pidge herself. So, with determined and purposeful strides, the graceful and elegant Altean princess marched down the steps of the balcony she'd been peering down from and over to the short, socially awkward, and anxious teenager. Unfortunately for Keith, as he noticed the princess approaching Pidge, he stopped in his steps becoming dissuaded from walking up and asking her to sneak away with him and was left to continue standing alone without someone to help him relax.  
  
"So, Pidge. We haven't had a chance to really talk." Allura begins reaching the girl. Already, the conversation felt a bit awkward as Pidge was somewhat surprised that a princess wanted to talk to her and Allura was trying to think up a way to get her to confess. "Tell me about yourself." Allura adds with a smile.  
  
  
"Hmm..." Pidge thinks for just a moment. "Well, I like peanut butter, and I like peanut butter cookies, but I hate peanuts. They're so dry. Also, I sweat a lot. I mean, in general, unrelated to the peanuts." She rambles for a moment awkwardly while internally feeling satisfied with everything she'd reported. She hadn't had much experience with people who wanted to get to know her so she went off Allura's expression for feedback on how she was doing. The polite smile she wore felt to Pidge like an indicator that she'd succeeded at the popular human activity that she'd never been a big fan of, socializing. However as she went to walk away, Allura stepped in front of her refusing to let the conversation end until she had her answers.  
  
  
"I suppose I was thinking of something... a little more personal." The princess suggests in a tone she hoped would subtly hint at what she really wanted to know. "We have a lot in common." Pidge stared back annoyed that she was being forced to converse with someone who still felt like a stranger at a party that felt very alien and uncomfortable. ( _ **A//N HA pun! lol**_ )

  
"Like what?" She questions raising her eyebrows.  
  
  
"Uhh, well." Allura stumbles attempting to think of a commonality between the two. "Both of us had our father taken away by Zarkon." She answers genuinely sympathetic.

"Yeah, but I'm going to get mine back." Pidge blurts out without thinking. Immediately, she catches her mistake feeling horrible and embarrassed but the damage had already been done and she now could only be reminded of how bad she was at simply speaking with others— one of the many things that made her feel unqualified to be a Paladin. "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to—"

"No, I understand." Allura reassures understanding the girl had no intention of reminding her of the more permanent loss she'd experienced. "I just want you to know that you can confide in me." She steers back. "If there's anything you ever want to talk about." Allura leans down to Pidge's eye level searching for an answer. " _Annyyyythingggg_." She repeats drawing out the word even more. Allura wondered if she'd just have to come out and ask.  
  
"Okay. I do have something to tell you." Pidge admits finally with an expression and voice full of regret and Allura stands back up straight feeling satisfied that she was about to hear the truth for herself.  
  
"I had a feeling!" She says in her singsongy voice. "What is it?" She questions with fake curiosity feeling confident she already knew the answer.

"I'm leaving team Voltron." Pidge announces quietly while looking away to avoid the princess's disappointed and shocked gaze she knew was headed coming.

  
"Wait, what?!" Allura gasps in disbelief. The conversation had gone from awkward to a disaster in less than a minute.  
  
"I decrypted the information from the Galra ship about where my family might be, or at least where they were." Pidge explains. "I made up my mind. I'm leaving tonight." Her voice was full of determination and guilt as she knew this would hurt Allura's and the rest of the Paladins' feelings but ultimately, she had come to believe it would be for the best. The feelings of pure helplessness and fear that she'd borne the last year had ingrained into her mind that she was incapable of protecting anyone let alone defending the entire universe. She felt if she remained a Paladin, that it'd not only put the lives of her brother and dad at risk, but also the lives of everyone else in the universe. To Pidge, it appeared to be the best thing for everyone if she simply stepped aside and allowed the team to recruit a new pilot while she continued her search.  
  
"Pidge you can't, you're one of five Paladins!" Allura pleaded her mind clouding over with thoughts about what this could mean for the fate of the universe if there's no green Paladin and no Voltron to stop the malevolent race that had destroyed her homeworld over 10,000 years ago. "You have a sacred trust to defend the universe."  
  
"I didn't ask for this!" Pidge snarled defensively and a short moment of silence between the princess and teenager followed. "I'm sorry." The girl uttered remorsefully. "I should go tell everyone else." Allura didn't protest knowing there was nothing she could say to change the girl's mind and feeling too stunned to properly reply anyway.  
  
* * *

  
_S1 E4 at 9mins 30secs - 10mins 42secs_

"Pidge, no." Shiro stares wide-eyed at Pidge disbelieving that she could possibly be quitting just as the team had begun to work together.  
  
"The download from the Galra ship was enough to at least get me in the right direction to start my search. I have a pod all ready to go." She voices in an emotionless and straightforward tone knowing that it was best to rip the bandaid off as cleanly as possible no matter the pain it inflicted.  
  
"You can't leave!" Keith protests angrily glaring down into Pidge's eyes searching for some hint that this was a sick joke. Despite having done everything in his power to keep up the stone walls around his bruised and beaten heart, his captivation of Pidge's sassiness, strength, and resoluteness had led to feelings of protectiveness and affection for the girl slip through the cracks the short time he'd spent with her. These very same emotions were now tainting his heart as he heard that she was leaving him and abandoning the duty she had. It even made him wonder if he was wrong about her being the stronger one.  
  
"You can't tell me what to do!" Pidge snaps back a bit caught off guard that the Paladin she'd bonded with the most was being the least supportive. She also found it strange that he even cared as he'd acted so cold and aloof towards everyone.  
  
"If you leave, we can't form Voltron." Keith informs her attempting to speak in a calmer tone. He knew very well they would easily be able to find a pilot for the green lion if they had to as they had the entire universe at their disposal, but no one would be able to replace Pidge as a companion and team member. He had Shiro of course, but he and Pidge had the shared experience of fighting for their loved ones completely on their own, and when he was with her, he didn't feel quite so alone in his fight or in the universe. "And that means we can't defend the universe." Keith continues knowing he was lying to her and to himself but still desperately trying to think of what to say to make her stay. _Don't you see that I'm not a paladin worth fighting for?_ Pidge thought glaring at the dark icy eyes in front of her. "You're not the only one with a family. All these Arusians have families!"  
  
"Yea I have a family. They live on Earth. I want to be with them. Is that like, a thing that can happen?" Hunk chimes in and while he was being totally serious, he was mostly trying to pull Keith and Pidge's attention away from each other as they both looked to have murder in their eyes. But it didn't phase them one bit and they continued to firmly hold their gazes tuning out the rest of the bickering Paladins as Keith began to boil with rage.  
  
"You're putting the lives of two people over the lives of everyone in the entire universe!" He lashes out towards the girl causing her to have to take several steps backward in order to dodge his fury and gape back in shock at his sudden outburst.  
  
"Keith that's not how a team works. People have to want to be a part of it, they can't be forced." Shiro asserts to Keith while grabbing his arm to stop him from getting closer to Pidge. _I'm not trying to force her to be a part of the team, I just want her to want to stay._ Keith protested in his thoughts. "If you want to leave we won't stop you." Shiro speaks turning to face Pidge. "But please, just think about what you're doing." He ends on a plea. Glancing at Keith, Pidge feels her heart ache at the intensely fierce eyes that were begging her not to go.  
  
"I'm sorry. You're going to have to find someone else to pilot the green lion." She drops her head wishing she could hide from her team's disappointed faces. _They'll be better off with someone worthier._ She reassured herself as Keith struggled not to shout that no one would be able to replace her. He watched still in shock and pain as she and her Galra robot, Rover turned to walk away in the direction of the pods.  
  
"I can't believe it. This team is falling apart. How will we ever form Voltron?" Allura asks to no one in particular holding her hands over her heart.  
  
Mere moments later, a thundering rumble blasts from the castle as it begins shaking violently causing rocks and dust to fall. Arusians let out screams frightened and confused while the Paladins watch in horror before switching their brains to battle and defend mode so to jump into action.  
  
* * *

  
**A//N: I know every time there's a scene cut it gets harder to follow along without watching the show at the same time but plz bear with me because it's simply too much work for me write every single moment of every single episode that I don't change. So while this fanfic is meant to be read in conjunction with watching the show, I understand that's not always possible so from here on out when I cut to a new scene, I'll provide a very brief summary of what happened in the time I skipped and you can also refer back to the in-depth episode descriptions I provide links to at the beginning of each chapter. Thank you for your understanding!**  
  
_So when the bomb went off it was Haxus and Sendak using a robot disguised as Pidge's Rover and sending it in the castle and it blew up in the Bridge of the castle of lions where Lance and Coran had been chilling. The castle's power crystal is destroyed getting rid of all the power and sealing the lions in their hangers, Lance is out cold, and Coran was lowkey hurt but is fine. Allura, Pidge, Keith, Hunk, and Shiro all show up to the Bridge and are like oh fuck Lance is dead lol but Coran's ok and tells Hunk they gotta go get a new crystal from the Bulmera planet. Pidge helps them into the pod she was gonna use to leave, Allura and Keith run off to see who set the Arusian village on fire, and Shiro is carrying Lance somewhere to be safe I don't remember where exactly but it doesn't matter because Haxus and Sendak get to them first. Anyway, after Pidge helps Coran and Hunk get into their pod she is about to do something but then she sees that Sendak and Haxus have taken over the castle while Keith and Allura are checking out the village to see what's going on cuz it's on fire._  
  
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_S1 E4 at 15mins 54secs_

"Look! Attackers!" An Arusian shouts pointing to the blaze consuming the village.

  
"I'll go in for a closer look." Keith announces to Allura before using his jet boots to fly to the edge of the flames right behind a wall. Peering in through a window, he attempts to see who's started the fires and if any Arusians are trapped in the flames. Instead, he only finds Galra robots falling over and melting away as they're engulfed by the fire. "What?!" He feels his stomach drop as he perceives the perilous trap they'd fallen for. "Oh, no. They tricked us!" Keith informs Allura over his communicator. "It was just a diversion to separate us and thin the castle defenses."  
  
"We have to get back n—" Allura urges but cuts herself off as Keith flies ahead of her. The castle was already glowing a bright Galra violet motivating the two to fiercely rush back before the particle barrier locked them out. Allura's legs strike the dirt below violently as she wills herself to beat the rapidly descending impenetrable wall. She had to make it, she couldn't allow herself to lose the castle she'd spent her childhood and last 10,000 years in. She couldn't lose the lions or the Paladins. She couldn't lose the fight against the Galra or else her father's sacrifice and the many millennia of suffering endured by the universe would all be for naught. But alas, by chance there lay a pebble in the dirt and the momentum she had built up was too much to stop herself from tripping. Keith didn't take notice of his companion's fall as he was too focused on beating the barrier and propelled himself as fast as he could pushing his jet boots to the max. Seconds from touching the ground, the wall was already down to Keith's waist and he only had one chance to make it through the opening as he quickly approached. Shutting off his full blasting jet boots midair, he immediately falls to the ground with a hard thud knocking the breath out of his lungs as he forces his body to roll under the barrier.  
  
"Allura." He groans pushing himself back up off the ground. He had managed to make it just in time but looking around now, he saw that she had not. "No!" He exclaims pounding his fist against the wall. Allura stood staring back at him somberly through the translucent, purple, glowing wall feeling that she'd failed her team.  
  
"Keith." Allura steps closer to the wall. "It's up to you now." She whispers with a sad smile as a tear grazes her cheek. "No! Can't we break through the barrier?" He asks while hitting the wall with his sword.  
  
"No, and whoever has taken over the castle has a crystal which means they'll be able to fly the ship. You have to stop them." Allura explains with urgency in her voice.  
  
"How am I supposed to do that?" Keith asks and almost as if hearing the fear in his voice, Pidge responds.  
  
"Keith, can you hear me?" She whispers into her helmet communicator. Keith's eyes widen in surprise at the sound of her whisper is his ear and despite having been angered by her only a few minutes prior, a sense of relief washes over him as he learns she is alright and still with the team.  
  
"Pidge, is that you?? Where are you?" He asks desperately as he anxiously runs his fingers through his hair trying to sort out his thoughts.  
  
"I'm inside the castle. Sendak has taken over and is preparing for launch. He's got Lance and Shiro." She describes attempting to speak in as calm and collected a tone as she can muster so to not alarm Keith and Allura any further.  
  
"Pidge, listen. If they've started the launch sequence then we don't have much time before liftoff to stop it." The princess exclaims feeling herself starting to lose the ability to stay calm as it felt everything around her was starting to crumble.  
  
"What do I have to do?" She asks in reply without hesitation. It wasn't behavior she consciously thought about but despite feeling terribly too unqualified and insignificant to change the course of this war as a defender of the universe, she had immediately responded when duty called her without thinking twice about the decision even after deciding to quit.  
  
"You have to get down to the main control panel and disconnect the primary turbine from the central energy chamber. If you do that Sendak will have to reset the whole system. That might give us enough time for us to find a way to stop them." Allura describes in a fearful yet unwavering tone as she forces herself to remain as calm as possible. She was the leader of her team and needed to make herself hold it together.  
  
"I'll go join her. We'll stop them together. I promise." Keith reassures the locked out princess before running off through the castle's corridors. "Pidge, can you send me your location?" He asks quietly into his helmet while ducking around the corner to avoid two passing by Galra guards.  
  
"Sent." She whispers back as she too was trying her best to avoid the countless guards that Sendak and Haxus had already brought in. Within a minute or so, she could hear rapid footsteps chasing her and draws her bayard in anticipation of being attacked by a guard.  
  
"Hey, hey it's just me!" Keith whisper shouts wide-eyed in surprise as Pidge's shoulders immediately relax in relief at knowing it was only her teammate. However, a mere moment later she could feel them begin to tense up again remembering the argument they'd just had. "So do you know where we're going?" He asks doing his best to avoid the awkwardness in the air so they could focus on the task at hand.  
  
"Yeah, we have to get into the elevator shaft here." She gestures to the big steel elevator doors that lie in front of them. "Should be a fun challenge to get them open." She says sarcastically as the two begin to push open the left door with all their strength. Painfully slowly but surely, through their grunts and groans at the difficulty of forcing a steel door open, they could see bright violet light begin to peek through the crack and flood the dark hallway they were in.  
  
"Just... A bit... More!" Keith groans as he exerts one last push to finally get the door unstuck and allow it to open the rest of the way. But as the door unexpectedly opens, the elfin Pidge who had been pushing from below him, in an instant, found herself applying force to nothing causing her to slip off the edge. As the shaft was now open, the only direction to go was down and before she could even register what had happened, she had begun to fall. But as Keith was someone who always had his guard up, especially now as the castle was under attack and he was with the paladin he most wanted to protect, he instinctively reached his arm around Pidge's waist pulling her back against his chest to stop her from falling.  
  
"AHH!" She yelped as the wind was knocked out her from the sudden slip and slam of her body against Keith. "Wow." She breathes out while staring down at the seemingly bottomless shaft she'd almost fallen down.

  
"You alright?" Keith asks gazing down the same direction before quickly removing his eyes not wanting to imagine what had almost happened.  
  
"Yeah... Let's keep moving." She announces also not feeling like thinking about it. Realizing how close they were to each other, they immediately felt their heartbeats rise and the air thicken with tension even as they took a step back from each other.  
  
"So we have to go down there?" Keith questions a bit confused while doing his best to avoid eye contact.  
  
"Yup." And with that, she jumped without hesitation and warning to her partner making his heart leap from his chest as the girl he'd just saved from falling had willingly jumped down the hole. But it didn't take more than a few moments for him to realize she was using her jet pack to help her jump down slowly from ledge to ledge.  
  
"Fucking hell, Pidge. You scared me!" He exclaims letting out the gasp his lungs had taken in.  
  
"C'mon we gotta hurry!" She shouts back up without looking. Immediately, she hears the red paladin jumping down after her, ledge to ledge, easily gaining more speed before catching up to her level and moving at her slower pace so to stay together. The gesture was small and unspoken but nonetheless, Pidge took notice and appreciated that he chose to stay with her.  
  
"So... Are we gonna talk about you leaving?" Keith asks after awhile breaking the comfortable sounds of the patterned leaping and their heavy and slightly labored breathing.  
  
"I already explained myself. I do not want to again." She states sternly attempting to end the discussion as fast as it had been brought up.  
  
"If you didn't want to be a part of the team, why did you join to begin with?" His angry tone echoed through the elevator shaft.  
  
"This isn't the time for this, Keith!" Pidge growls back. "I didn't have the means to leave before, I do now." She adds hoping that satisfies at the very least his curiosity though she doubted his anger. "Look! It's the end, we finally made it!" She announces to change the subject and pull his attention back to the mission.  
  
The elevator had fallen, crashed, and completely busted causing an opening in the wall where the elevator doors would have opened up to allowing Pidge and Keith to easily walk through. Squeezing through the opening, they entered the central energy chamber, a spherical room the size of a small stadium. While for the most part empty, there was a catwalk leading to the center which contained the main control panel sitting directly in front of the enormous source of energy which fiercely illuminated the room.  
  
"Wow.. this place is huge!" Pidge exclaims taking a moment to take in the titanic size of the room as the pair bolted down the walk way towards the panel.  
  
"Allura we're here. Now what?" Keith asks urgently into his communicator once they'd arrived at the confusing set of controls.  
  
"Now open the hatch." The princess orders and Pidge immediately crouches down to open it as Keith steps closer to observe and be ready to help the girl if necessary. "Find the central computer control hub and enter the following sequence." Allura instructs and Pidge begins examining the labels listening in to everything Keith was being told in his helmet.  
  
"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Which one is it? All the labels are in Altean!" Pidge shouts over her own communicator. Keith's eyes dart up from the girl in shock as the sun of energy begins shooting out long arms of electricity like lightning.

"Allura hurry they're about to launch!" He yells forcefully.

"I can't tell which one it is! Allura? Allura?!" Pidge screams worried before she stands and notices the growing violent energy. She turns to Keith with a gaze pleading for answers and he stares back desperate to be able to provide one to save her. Not wasting a moment longer, Pidge gets back to her knees and glances at the weapon in her hand. _Whatever. No time to hesitate._ Pidge thinks to herself. Eyeing her closely a sudden realization of what the girl is about to do sweeps over Keith just as she goes to slam her bayard into all the Altean labels at once.

"Pidge, NO!" He shouts to stop her, already too late as they're thrown back several meters by the sudden harsh blast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note from Wattpad:  
> Sup doods. Shits rlly going down in the world rn isn't it. Quarantine's been making me depressed and I kinda just feel like I'm fading away from life rn lol like nothing outside of the little bubble I'm living in even exists. I hope y'all aren't being stupid and are staying home and social distancing. Here's a place you can donate:
> 
> https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/coronavirus-relief-fund/#menu
> 
> Anyway let's talk about happier things lol. I know that S1E4 ends a few moments after this but I want my next chapter to pick up right here so that's why I'm ending it here. My original intention was to get 4 and 5 into this chapter but I'm already at over 4500 words and it's been too long since I updated so imma just go ahead and publish this chapter then start 5 lol. Hmm idk what else I was gonna say. Hmu if you need someone to talk to. I know shits stressful rn but I'll always be here if u need to just rant♥️
> 
> ~Whitney
> 
> Originally posted on Wattpad at 1:31a April 29th, 2020
> 
> Posted here 2:06a April 29th, 2020


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